 Welcome to NTIA Nightly, I am Genelle Norville, this edition's top stories. St Lucia and the OECS will soon be armed with rapid test kits in the fight against COVID-19. Southern businesses consolidate to take advantage of new opportunities and a special campaign to assist vulnerable families during the COVID-19 pandemic is launched. St Lucia along with the rest of the OECS will soon be armed with rapid test kits in the fight against COVID-19 as member states reopen. The kits are among critical equipment to be procured by the OECS commission. As the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to conduct accurate and frequent testing cannot be overstated. Director-General of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States OECS Commission, His Excellency Dr. Dedicus Jules, highlighting the importance of accurate testing, indicated that the OECS commission has been working assiduously to obtain accurate testing kits. The OECS commission, through its various missions, got in contact with a Senegal company making accurate test kits to be sold at one US dollar. However, these were intended for use solely in Africa and so the commission resorted to alternative means. With Caribbean countries embarking on a regional approach to reopening the tourism industry, the need for rapid testing has become even more evident. His Excellency Dr. Jules also explained that the OECS commission has been able to procure equipment to aid in rapid testing. In the context of the need for rapid and widespread testing, this becomes an unassailable cost for our governments. So we are aggressively trying to get donations of test kits and all of that. The other thing too is the testing equipment. We discovered through our mission in Brussels that the International Atomic Energy Agency is providing the most accurate testing equipment available globally. And that uses radioisotopes and so on. It's very sophisticated. It identifies every type of virus that is known and it does it within very quick time within an hour. Multiple tests can be executed at the same time. So we approached them and we got agreement from them to provide one of those pieces of equipment to each member state. Including St. Kitts and Levis, which was not a member of the IAEA, but we were able to make the case because of the unification and the free movement of people in the OECS that leaving them out would leave a hole in the testing network. So we were able to get it. Ironically, St. Kitts has received the equipment and Tiga has received it. The others are on shipment to St. Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, etc. The OECS Commission has also been successful in securing funds to procure respirators. We have mobilized something like 1.9 million U.S. dollars from the corporate private sector. Places like Massey and Republic Bank and Sajiko have been of immense help to us in mobilizing the finances required to help purchase the respirators. As you know, that has been a real challenge in terms of the supply chain internationally. We've had some countries' orders of respirators seized or we've held back in the U.S. Yes, because they're looking at themselves first. Because people are looking to protect themselves first. So the demand far exceeds supply and that has been a huge challenge for us with some of the orders that we've made. But things are beginning to ease up now and we are able to see more speed and responsiveness in what we're ordering. The Director General who appeared on the Information Command Center on Friday 5 June 2020 indicated that the OECS Commission will continue to play its part in the fight against COVID-19. The business community in the south of the island has consolidated as it prepares to take advantage of the opportunities investments in the south are bringing. The issue was discussed Sunday evening during the GIS NTN panel series COVID-19 Road to Recovery. Anise Antoine has the details. The Road to Recovery business and investment panel discussion focused on investment opportunities around the island and the synergies that exist between government agencies and business organizations as the battle continues against the COVID-19 pandemic. Sabina Valmore, Founding President of the Southern Business Association launched in November 2019, explained that the newly formed body promotes the economic development of the south by providing advocacy and support for small businesses including car rentals, bookstores, taxi drivers and contractors. Valmore stated that with new projects continuously coming on stream for the advancement and future development of the south of the island, this type of institution is critical in creating opportunities for small businesses. We're now at the point where we want those projects to happen. We are waiting for them to happen. We want to see improved and improved economic climate in the south of the island. That is what we are looking for. We invest the same kind of money as the rest of St Lucia. We want to begin seeing the same kind of returns and we do not think that isolating ourselves as a community is going to work to our advantage. We understand that the world is now a global space and isolation. There's nothing for us as a community. All it will do is to keep us at a disadvantage. Valmore explained that the Southern Business Association will continue to liaise with entities such as investing in Lucia to ensure inclusion in plans for the development of the south. At some point before things begin to actually take root that we would have another opportunity to sit with Invest in Lucia as an association. So our members would have that opportunity to dialogue with Invest in Lucia to find out exactly how it is they would be able to capitalise on what it is that was coming for the south. And that is one of the fundamental reasons, Lisa, why we're insisting on ensuring that the Southern Business Association is present at the table. Because for too long businesses in the south have not had a voice, have not had their presence at the table where the decisions have been made. With the change in dynamics of operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the president of the Southern Business Association encouraged members to find new ways to make their business more efficient and profitable. What we are finding is that there is a lot of need as far as financing will go because for a lot of members business has ground to a halt. There is no money coming into the business. And so for some of them the concern is whether I will even be around post COVID. So that is one of the challenges. Another big need right now in the MSME space is the ability to pivot your business so that you have an online presence. And I was fortunate to take part in a recent meeting with the OAS where they were discussing this platform that is now available to MSMEs where your business can move online if you don't have the capacity. Because what we saw during COVID was that businesses who had the capability of operating in the online space were able to continue especially if they were essential. But for those of them who did not have that capability, everything ground to a halt. The Southern Business Association has a membership of 58 businesses to date. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. Still with business, the manufacturing sector was met with a snag with the onset of COVID-19. However, manufacturers are looking to continue in the growth trajectory that the sector began last year. In 2019, manufacturing recorded growth estimated at 8.6% up from 6.6% in 2018. The sector's contribution to overall real GDP moved from 3.2% in 2018 to 3.4% in 2019. President of the St. Lucia Manufacturing Association, Margaret DZ, attributes the positive movement to innovation in the sector and an enabling environment created by government. She was a panelist on the GIS NTN series COVID-19 Road to Recovery. The discussion focused on investment and business opportunities. One thing that the government did for us, which was very favorable, is paying the vat at the point of sale rather than at the port. Because before 2018, like two years ago, prior to that, when vat was implemented, we were paying vat at the port. So what used to happen to us, because of economies of scale, some of us didn't have the capacity to do bulk purchase of raw material because the vat would increase, obviously, based on the amount. But now that that was removed, the Prime Minister at the first meeting with us, that was one of the great things he did for us. We're very grateful for. He removed the vat at the point of the port and put it at the point of sale. And you know cash flow is king. That's your reality. So that has now enabled us with the increased demand to be able to buy more bulk. So increase your working capital, buy more bulk, and you pay the vat at the point of sale. So when we buy more bulk, that means we get bulk discount, economies of scale, and it's beneficial to us and it has a domino effect on the consumers. So we're very grateful for that. In 2019, the estimated value of manufacturing production expanded by 6.1% to $340.1 million. The food sub-sector, which is the second largest component of manufacturing output, contributed most significantly to the growth in total manufacturing production, expanding by 14.4% in 2019 to $103.5 million. Margaret Desi says the sector's performance during a year when Brexit and the U.S.-China trade war threatened to derail global business. The local manufacturing sector was able to not only maintain stride but improve its gains. The government has already made a commitment through the plans to support local businesses that they will give us what is required, whether it be warehouse spacing, whether it be concession. The similar opportunities that are there for foreign investors to come in, it is also there for locals to get. And that is very important and we need to remember that. But we need to have that entrepreneurial spirit. We need to be able to decide that we're going to sell our way through the crisis and not just sit back and wait until the government do everything for us. We need to do something for ourselves to be able to sell ourselves through the crisis and then win towards the end. President of the St. Lucia Manufacturers Association, Margaret Desi, appearing there on the GIS NTN panel series COVID-19 Road to Recovery. In response to the economic impact of COVID-19, Winwood and Leeward Brewery Limited, Doubile's bottling company, WLBL-DBC, has announced its 2020 Peter Malter Nourishing Futures campaign plans. The aim of the campaign is to give back to vulnerable families across the island through the St. Lucia Development Fund, SSDF, Marcy Store Supermarkets and the National Emergency Management Organization, NEMO. We have more in this report. WLBL-DBC kicked off the 2020 leg of its Peter Malter Nourishing Futures campaign recently in the community of Grosele. Company officials were pleased to relaunch the campaign, partnering with the St. Lucia Social Development Fund, the SSDF, to provide food and grocery supplies to vulnerable families negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. SSDF will be assisting us in selecting vulnerable families in various communities island-wide, and the Peter Malter brand will be providing these families with much-needed food and grocery items. This will be done on a monthly basis. Every month we'll be selecting one community, and then we're targeting six families per community. We're starting off this month with the Grosele community, and we'll be working our way down to the south of the island. Executive Director of the SSDF, Alison Mathera, expressed gratitude for the contribution, particularly during this challenging time. It is unfortunate that COVID has come along, and the decimated economy is not just of St. Lucia and other islands in the region, but also internationally, and the troublesome thing about that is, and which is what makes this contribution so invaluable, is because we know that private sector organizations will be a little crash-strapped around this time, at a time when we will need to call on them the most. The second phase of the campaign, according to WLBL DBC officials, is currently active through a promotion at massive store supermarkets. For every Peter Malter purchase, five cents will be donated to NEMO to assist families in need. The 2020 Peter Malter Nourishing Futures campaign is committed to providing support to local families through other trusted partnerships in 2020 and beyond. From the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reporting. In keeping with changes in international oil prices and government's application of the modified market pastoral petroleum pricing mechanism, the retail price of diesel, LPG 20, 22 and 100 pound cylinders has changed. The retail price of gasoline and kerosene remained unchanged. The price changes take effect from Monday, June 8, 2020. Gasoline remains unchanged at $11.50 per gallon. Kerosene remains unchanged at $7.15 per gallon. Diesel decreased from $11.92 to $10.44 per gallon. The 20 pound LPG cylinder has decreased from $26.19 to $25.82. The 22 pound cylinder also decreased from $28.80 to $28.40. The 100 pound cylinder decreased from $147.71 to $144.05. The next adjustment of the retail price of fuel products will be on Monday, June 29, 2020. And this is NTN Nightly, up next, Primus Hutchinson with the NTN Nouvelle Aquial. It is possible for infected food handlers or workers to introduce the COVID-19 virus into food or onto surfaces within the food business by coughing and sneezing or through hand contact unless they strictly follow code-personal hygiene practices. Food handlers must wash their hands before starting work, before handling cooked or ready to eat food, after handling or preparing raw food, after handling waste, after cleaning duties, after using the toilet, after blowing their nose or sneezing or coughing, after eating or drinking and after handling money. More than ever before, your important role as gatekeepers of St. Lucia's nutritional health and food security should be taken seriously. When you exercise these precautions, you not only safeguard your health but also continue to allow St. Lucia's access to clean, healthy and safe food. Remember, it is our responsibility to ensure our nation eats fresh, St. Lucia's best. Welcome back. We join Primus Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle Aquial. The driver of the Nouvelle Aquial, Primus Hutchinson, the driver of the Nouvelle Aquial, I find permission to travel and then passenger more after. During your discussion with the NTN, Prime Vice-President of the National Council for Public Transportation, Country Frederick, and also who started with Lady Léa-Huit-G, the passenger who was supported by this passenger, Mr. Frederick, in prison, these police officers have done all they can to assist you, and we are also here. So, we are here to help the passengers and the passengers and to help them to get to the right place during their service. We have seven passengers. We have five. We have four families who are from the same family. We have three and four. We have seven. Because we are living together. We are living together. So, what we can do, where we are living together, where we are living together, we have to feed ourselves to do that. Trusty, we are here. We have three passengers. I have found everything I need, the Prime Minister, and I have everything I can to assist the passengers. But if the passengers continue to work, to support the same people who are here, and to do the same thing, we will be able to correct the situation. We have the same responsibility for ourselves, to look after ourselves. We have the same responsibility for ourselves, to do what we have to do. We have the same conscience. We have the same responsibility for ourselves. Where could we be doing it, where would we behave. We have to work in peace. Just like theittä top house that we work with, we will take the same responsibility for ourselves, and every one of us works their own way. Their California land that we have all to assist. We have to continue to protect and take care of the COVID-19 patients and eat them. This is the school that we pay for. I have the facility for social distancing and also for the protection of the patients. I am an officer of the Department of Health, because Ragnanan is very confident that this school has respected all the protocols and that it is the health that leads to the health of the patients. Ragnanan, Pepe, Yahwedi, Guida, Jiki, Maladisa, and Kapote are the perfect match for the battle. The quality of the problem is very good. So, these reasons are very important for the ministry, especially this school, to implement all the protocols. The first one is the first school, that is the first school of the impolite school, Eflin Leos. This school is very important for the change of social distance and also in the prevention and prevention of the disease. Therefore, the ministry is the only one to implement the standard of safety that will protect the disease. And to the ministry. The first minister, that can affect the studies. That is to make sure that if the studies are found out by LAD, you guys are to be treated in a healthy facility that can help us to live in a safe place. The charging fee for petrol, condisils, cylinder 20, 22, and 100 li. Gasoline costs the same as before. Gasoline costs the same as before. That is $10 per litre, but $11.24 per gallon. Carousine, pasangina, please. Equestria, 1 dollar, $10.24 per litre, but $7.07 per gallon. Diesel, with risotto, $10.07 per litre, but $1.03 per litre, but $10.04 per gallon. Cylinder, 20 li, but $26.29 per litre, and $3.5 per cylinder. The cylinder was sold for $28 and $3.4 for $28 and $4.8 per cylinder. The cylinder was sold for $457 and $1011 for $454 and $4.9 per cylinder. The cylinder was sold for $257 and $3.4 for $1011 and $4.9 per cylinder. The cylinder was sold for $1011 and $4.9 per cylinder. The cylinder was sold for $257 and $4.9 per cylinder.